U.S. Senate
On December 1, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced his choice of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the junior U.S. Senator from New York, as Secretary of State. This began a two-month search process to fill her vacant Senate seat. Upon a Senate vacancy, under New York law, the Governor appoints a replacement. There would be subsequent special election in 2010, for the conclusion of the full term, ending in January 2013.
Governor Paterson's selection process began with a number of prominent names and high-ranking New York Democrats vying for the spot. Gillibrand quietly campaigned to Paterson for the position, meeting secretly with him on at least one occasion; she says she made an effort to underscore her successful House elections in a largely conservative district, adding that she could be a good complement to Chuck Schumer. Gillibrand was presumed a likely choice the days before the official announcement; Paterson held a press conference at noon on January 23 announcing Gillibrand as his choice.
The response within New York to the governor's appointment was mixed. The upstate media was generally optimistic about an upstate Senator, which they had not seen since Charles Goodell left office in 1971; while downstaters focused on disappointment with a non-Kennedy selection, with some media outlets stating that the selection ignored the electoral influence New York City and downstate have on state politics (due to the area's population). One explicitly asked whether Paterson's administration was aware of " statewide elections are won and lost". The relative unfamiliarity with Gillibrand statewide was undeniable, with many voters finding the choice surprising. One source states, "With every Democrat in New York...angling for the appointment, there was a sense of bafflement, belittlement, and bruised egos when Paterson tapped the junior legislator unknown outside of Albany."
Gillibrand was sworn in on January 26, 2009; at 42, she entered the chamber as the youngest senator in the 111th Congress.
Read more about this topic: Kirsten Gillibrand
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